Ness Notes (Jan 3)

The bowl season is just about over, with only tonight's Orange Bowl (Fla St/Penn St) and Wednesday's Rose Bowl (not sure who's playing in that one?) remaining. Through the first 10 bowls, favorites won each game but were just 5-5 ATS. However, beginning with Nebraska's 32-28 Alamo Bowl win over Michigan last Wednesday night, the SU winner of each of the last 16 bowl games has also been the pointspread winner. Underdogs (we're counting Florida as the 'dog' in the Outback Bowl) are both 11-5 SU and ATS since Nebraska's win and 11-15 SU but 16-10 ATS though 26 bowl games. While 'over' bettors went just 3-3 yesterday, they thrived during this year's bowl season, cashing 17 of 26 tickets (a cool 65.4 percent!). Tonight's Orange Bowl features the two winningest coaches in college football history. Bobby Bowden ranks No.1 all-time with 359 wins, while Joe Paterno ranks second with 353 victories. While Joe Pa is in his 40th year at Penn St and Bowden is in his 30th at Fla St, this is just the second-ever meeting between these two legendary coaches while they've been at their respective schools (FSU won the 1990 Blockbuster Bowl, 24-17). In tonight's game, Penn St is a 10-point favorite with a total of 46 1/2. The NFL completed its regular season schedule on Sunday and over the next few days, I'll recap different aspects of the 2005 NFL season. Suffice it to say, the 2005 season will be best-remembered as the "Year of the Favorite." Week 17 concluded with favorites going just 8-7-1 ATS (counting Green Bay as the 'push'). However, for the season, favorites won at a rate that's had everyone in the sports betting community wondering if there has ever been a year like it! The final tally looks like this, based against the closing line at the Stardust. Home favorites finished 94-75-5 ATS or 55.6 percent. Road favorites were an incredible 48-29-4 ATS, or 62.3 percent (surely the best all-time!). One game (SD/KC in Week 16) closed 'pick', in a game won by the home team. Overall, favorites finished the 2005 NFL season 142-104-9, or 57.7 percent winners!